Stegall reflects on more than half a century in Lake's elections office

Emogene Stegall is one of the most respected public officials… (CARIN PEREZ/ORLANDO SENTINEL )

November 2, 2010|By Stephen Hudak, ORLANDO SENTINEL

TAVARES — Emogene Stegall, Lake's longest-tenured elected official, began her career in the elections office more than a half century ago when votes were hand-counted and campaigns seemed more civil.

As voters go to the polls today, the Orlando Sentinel asked the 84-year-old political matriarch to reflect on five decades in the elections office, where she has witnessed monumental changes in candidates, campaigns and technology.

When she started in 1958, there was no air-conditioning and two manual typewriters. Now climate-controlled and highly computerized, the office relies on technology to handle many operations. Machines scan and tally ballots, spitting out results quickly.

But if you call the office, there's a good chance Stegall — who was first elected supervisor in 1972 — will answer the phone. She's remains old-fashioned in that way.

Q: What's the biggest change you've witnessed in elections?

A: Absentee balloting. In 1958, in order to have an absentee ballot mailed to you, you had to send in a request with a notarized signature stating that you were ill, physically unable to go to the polls or swear that you would be out of the county. Absentee balloting back then closed five days prior to Election Day. If you fell and broke a leg five days before the election and couldn't get to the polls, you didn't vote…Now, you can just pick up the phone and request your ballot.

Q: What changes have been best for elections?

A: Oh, I think I like the latest technology. It's what our voters and our candidates and our news reporters like. We have faster results. And I think it's much more accurate…

Q: How have campaigns changed over the years?

A: I can remember 30, 40 years ago, candidates respected each another more.…We did not have the negative campaigning or the name-calling like we see today.

Q: How else have candidates changed?

A: If a candidate didn't win back then, well, they understood they just didn't get enough votes. They understood that the people didn't want them for one reason or other. But today, candidates sometimes start looking — if they don't win — for a reason, an excuse, something that maybe went wrong in the elections office…something to blame for the loss other than themselves.

Q: What have you done over the years to encourage voter participation?

A: We've always had outreach to get people to vote.…Wherever registration was requested, I was there. I even attended a wake in Eustis after a shooting of an African-American by police…That church was packed. As I recall, I registered 126 new voters.

Q: You lost your husband of 64 years to cancer in May. How will this election be different without him?

A: He was always supportive of my work but I realize now that he did a lot more around the house than I ever thought he did, especially taking care of Skippy [the dog]. He had that dog spoiled rotten.